Zalando rolls out Connected Retail to French stores, Karl Lagerfeld joins

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 31, 2021

Zalando is extending its Connected Retail offer to more countries, with France now added to its list. It means there’s an online solution for physical retailers of any size across all of France.

The extension comes with Karl Lagerfeld joining the programme as one of the first French partners via its flagship Paris Saint-Germain store and other locations. So Zalando customers across France can shop the brand’s products directly from the stores.

The Connected Retail network now comprises 3,400+ active stores from nine European markets and Zalando said it’s a “central part” of its platform strategy

As of March 31, French retailers can connect their stores directly to Zalando’s platform and sell their products to millions of customers online. Zalando said that, depending on the size of the store, retailers can achieve an increase in sales of up to 60% via the programme.

The company added that the French Connected Retail team will consist of local employees with specific know-how to support retailers in the country. For the wider programme, it’s aiming to grow from 3,400 to on-board over 6,000 stores by year-end, with at least 600 of those located in France. 

It will invest €50 million in Connected Retail this year “and a large share will be invested into the strategically important market, France”. 

And during the Covid crisis, it has reduced commissions (until the end of the year) and is offering weekly payouts to support stores’ liquidity.

The programme works by physical retailers connecting their stores “quickly, easily and without connection costs” to the Zalando platform with the company providing the software for the connection, online content, payment options, customer support and personal account managers. 

Partners can also make use of marketing services via the 360 degree marketing unit, Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS). And French customers will soon be able to support local shops directly by using the “delivery from a shop” filter option.